1998 College World Series
May 29 - June 6 --Rosenblatt Stadium --Omaha, Nebraska
Fri., May 29 Florida State 2:30 p.m. CST (ESPN)
Sun., May 31 Miami or Long Beach State 2:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. CST

ASU -- Arizona State (38-22, 18-11 Pac-10 Southern Division and ranked No. 7 Baseball America and No. 6 Collegiate Baseball in the polls) will travel to Omaha, Nebraska to participate in the 1998 NCAA College World Series, May 29-June 6 at Rosenblatt Stadium. The Devils, the No. 6 seed, will face third-seeded Florida State (53-18, 18-4 ACC) to open up the World Series at 2:30 p.m. CST on Friday.

SUN DEVILS IN THE SERIES -- This is the 18th College World Series appearance for Arizona State and the first under fourth-year head coach Pat Murphy. ASU has won five national championships (1965, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1981) and posted a 53-29 (.646) record at the World Series. ASU has finished first, second or third at 13 of its previous 17 CWS appearances, finishing second four times (1972, 1973, 1978, 1988) and third four times (1975, 1976, 1983, 1994). ASU's last CWS appearance was in 1994.

MURPH IN THE NCAAs -- Head coach Pat Murphy has guided ASU to the CWS in just his fourth year at the helm of the program and for just the second time in ASU history from a regional site away from Tempe. In his coaching career, Murphy has made seven NCAA appearances and posted career record of 17-13 in NCAA Tournament play.(8-5 at ASU, 9-8 at Notre Dame). In four appearances with the Irish, he went to three regional finals and led ASU to regional finals in each of the last two seasons. This is his first CWS appearance.

CWS ON TV -- All games from the College World Series will be telecast live by either ESPN, ESPN2 or CBS.

ASU ON THE RADIO -- KMVP 860 AM will broadcast Arizona State's games during the College World Series. Check your local listing for the dates and times. Tom Dillon and Bob Eger will provide the play-by-play and color commentary respectively.

DID YOU KNOW? -- The Devils won 13 of their last 18 conference games ... ASU posted seven straight wins over ranked opponents (then-No. 24 U of A , then-No. 3 USC and then-No. 11 Oklahoma) ... ASU is 6-4 in its last 10 games ... the Sun Devils won 12 consecutive conference games - the last time ASU did that was in 1990 when they won 13 straight league matchups (a Six-Pac record) ... Arizona State has not been shutout in its last 191 games (last time shutout was a 0-9 loss to USC on April 7, 1995) ...

the Devils have allowed only 28 stolen bases (28-for-54) through 60 games ... ASU pitchers have thrown four two-hitters (one complete, three combined) and one one-hitter (combined) in 1998 as well as three shutouts (combined) ... of the Devils last eight losses, six were by one run ... Twenty-four of ASU's games this year have been decided by two runs or less (ASU is 13-12 in those games).

Talk about tough -- Once again, Arizona State has arguably one of the toughest schedules in the nation this year. The Sun Devils will play 34 games versus Top 25 teams (preseason top 25 by Baseball America). Five Six-Pac teams were ranked in the preseason top 25. Currently three Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 15 (according to Baseball America). ASU has played 12 games vs. Top 5 opponents.

ON THE BRINK-- Junior Andrew Beinbrink (San Diego, Calif.), who has already picked up some preseason All-America accolades, will anchor ASU's infield from third base in 1998. The 6-3 infielder is one of only three players to start every game this season. He leads the team with nine homeruns, 22 doubles and 77 RBI. He is third on the team in runs scored (58) and third in hits (71). Thirty-five of his 71 hits have been for extra bases. Beinbrink leads the team in two-out RBIs with 29 and is 19-23 in stolen bases. He has had 21 multi-hit games as well as 22 multi-RBI games. He leads the conference in RBI. Beinbrink was recently named a fIRst-team all-conference selection (he is now a two-time honoree). He hit .600 vs. USC with seven runs scored and eight RBI as well as one double and three homeruns and was honored as Six-Pac Player of the Week.

Mills earns National Player of the WEEk honors -- Junior lefty Ryan Mills was honored as a Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week and The Sporting News for his performance vs. then-No. 3 USC. Mills picked up his fifth win in a 18-3 rout of the Trojans. He went 8.0 innings, allowing only three hits, two earned runs, five walks and struck out a season-high 15 batters.

THE LAST HURRAH -- Senior outfielder Mikel Moreno will end a long and successful career at ASU after this season. Through 60 games, he is batting .359 with 52 RBI and 92 hits. He has also swiped 25 bases in the 1998 season and is batting well against righthanders (.388). The speedy rightfielder has started all 60 contests and put together a 21-game hitting streak dating back to the 1997 season before going 0-for-5 vs. FSU (2/7) earlier this year. He has had 29 multiple-hit game and 15 multiple RBI games this year. Moreno, a two-year starter, is ASU's all-time in career runs scored at ASU with 231. He ws recently named an honorable mention on the All-Pac-10 (Southern Div.) team. Moreno is currently on a 11-game hitting streak and was named Midwest Regional MVP, batting .550 for the regional.

Pitchers corner -- A lot of new faces grace the bullpen in 1998, including junior transfer Chuck Crumpton (Mesquite, Texas). Crumpton has pitched 62.1 innings of relief for the Devils in 1998 and was a part of two of ASU's combined shutout victories. He sports an impressive 2.89 ERA (lowest on the team and second in the Six-Pac) and a 3-7 record with five saves and a team-high 35 appearances. His 35 appearances ties for second all-time in single-season appearances at ASU. The 6-4 righthanded pitcher helped lead Northeast Texas CC to the '96 Junior College National Championship and was the winning pitcher in the championship game over Meridian JC.

Freshman pitchers joining the roster are LHP Drew Friedberg, RHP Robby Milner and RHP Chad Pennington. Pennington (6-2, 3.84 ERA, three saves) pitched his first collegiate complete game in a 3-2 win over Southern Utah, allowing only five hits, two earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts. Transfer Aaron Kramer (Grand Canyon U.) has also joined the ASU pitching staff and has been strong out of the bullpen and as a mid-week starter. In his first start of the 1998 season vs. Grand Canyon, Kramer went 5.0 innings, allowing only two hits, no runs, one walk while striking out a career-high 10 batters. He is 8-2 overall, 2-0 in the Midwest Regional, with a 3.86 ERA in 25 appearances. He is 4-2 in league play with no starts. Sophomore Jay Gehrke and Colin "C.J." Call could also see some time in postseason play.

DRAFTED DEVILS -- Sixteen current players on the 1998 Arizona State squad have been taken in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft:

THE HIT MAN -- Sophomore Willie Bloomquist (Port Orchard, Wash.) leads the Arizona State offense in '98 and was recently named to the ABCA All-West Region Team. The infielder/outfielder is batting .413 and leads the team in hits (100), runs scored (82), stolen bases (33), triples (9) and walks (56). Bloomquist has had multiple-hit games in 30 of 60 and has 15 multiple RBI games. He is batting .415 with runners in scoring position, .439 vs. lefties and .405 vs. righthanders. He is third on the team in two-out RBI with 18 on the year and hit his first homerun of the season vs. Washington (3/27). Bloomquist leads the Six-Pac in hits, batting average, stolen bases and triples. Bloomquist was invited to the summer camp for the 1998 USA Baseball National Team. Training camp is scheduled to open June 1 at Hi Corbett Field in Tuscon, Arizona. He was recently a first-team All-Pac-10 selection (Southern Div.).

CASEY AT BAT -- Freshman designated hitter Casey Myers is batting at a .385 clip (67-for-174) with 17 doubles (second on the team) and seven homeruns. He has made 46 starts in 48 appearances. Myers has hit 17 doubles in his last 26 games and is batting an amazing .545 vs. lefties. He is second on the team in multi-RBI games with 16. Versus nationally-ranked Oklahoma and conference foe UCLA, Myers went nine-for-17 with eight runs scored, three homeruns while collecting nine RBI. For his efforts, he was named Six-Pac Player of the Week. He was also named Six-Pac Player of the Week for his performance vs. Arizona (4/6). Myers was recently invited to the USA Baseball National Team summer camp along with teammate Willie Bloomquist. He was named an honorable mention on the All-Pac-10 team (Southern Div.) and named Newcomer of the Year by his teammates at the Arizona State Baseball Banquet. He was recenlty honored as a Collegiate Baseball/ Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American (first-team) along with teammate Chad Pennington (HM).

Leon pulls double-duty -- Senior Richy Leon (San Luis, Ariz.) will once again split his time in the field and on the mound in 1998. Leon will see time at second base and as a righthanded starter/middle reliever for the Devils. He is currently batting .272 (37-for-136) with 30 runs scored and 23 RBI. He picked up a win in his first start of the season, going 6.1, allowing only one earned run vs. No. 1 Stanford. For his efforts, he was named Six-Pac Pitcher of the Week. Since then, however, Leon has received only two decisions (a win vs. Washington and vs. Arizona) in his last eight starts. The senior has a 6.67 ERA in 14 appearances (56.2 IP) with 51 K's. He is holding opponent lefties to a .222 average. Leon hit his fourth homerun of the season with a three-run shot vs. UCLA (4/17).

ASU Baseball on the Internet -- Fans can catch-up on the latest news in Sun Devil Baseball on the internet at the official Arizona State Athletics homepage - http://www.thesundevils.com

INJURY REPORT -- Sophomore Kevin Tillman, who has been bothered with a left hamstring strain, will apply for a medical redshirt at the end of this season and is out for the rest of the year. Junior Chip Gosewisch had surgery on his left shoulder last Saturday and is out for the remainder of the season.

Sun Devils On The Radio -- KMVP 860 AM continues its association with Arizona State baseball with a package of 56 home and away games to be broadcast this season. Tom Dillon calls the play-by-play while Bob Eger will handle color commentary duties. The following is a list of the seven games that will not be broadcast by KMVP: Jan. 22 vs. CS Northridge, Jan. 24 vs. Florida International, Jan. 31 vs. Hawaii-Hilo (DH), Feb. 25 vs. Anaheim Angels (exhib.), Feb. 27 vs. Stanford and Mar. 7 at UCLA. You can also listen to the Sun Devils via audionet at www.audionet.com

PACKARD STADIUM TABBED AS ONE OF NATION'S FINEST -- Baseball America recently ranked the top 15 college baseball stadiums in the country and ASU's own Packard Stadium checked in as the 10th best collegiate ballpark. Packard Stadium was the only Six-Pac facility to make the publications list and one of only five West coast ballparks.

PRESEASON PAC-10 COACHES POLL -- Arizona State is picked to finish second in the 1998 Pac-10 Coaches Preseason Poll as voted on by the six head coaches from each of the Six-Pac schools. Here is the complete poll:

THE DYNAMIC DUO -- The one-two punch of junior lefties Ryan Mills (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Phill Lowery (Petaluma, Calif.) have proven to be formidable in 1998. Mills and Lowery have combined for 14 wins and a 4.44 ERA. Lowery (8-4, 3.96 ERA) picked up his eighth win of the season on Sunday, going 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out eight batters in a 18-4 rout of UCLA. Mills sports a 4.87 ERA through 14 starts and picked up his sixth win of the year on Friday, going 5.2 innings with six strikeouts.

Lowery is holding batters to a .214 average (.209 vs. righthanded batters) and has won his last three Sunday starts. Mills is tied for second in the league in strikeouts (104), fourth in innings pitched (81.1 IP) and 10th in ERA (4.87). Lowery is ranked sixth in ERA (3.96), third in wins (8-4) and sixth in strikeouts (81). Last year both were among the conference leaders in ERA (Mills, 2.88 ERA ranked 1st and Lowery's 4.13 ERA ranked 7th) and hits per nine inning (Mills, 7.61 hits ranked 1st and Lowery's 8.26 hits ranked 4th).

Fourth season at Arizona State: 146-86
Div. I Record (10th year): 464-202-1
Career Record (13th year): 519-257-3

Pat Murphy now in his fourth season at Arizona State after spending seven years at Notre Dame, has left his mark on Arizona State baseball. In his first year, Murphy guided ASU to a 34-21 record and put together the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. In 1996, he directed ASU to a 35-21 record and a No. 25 final ranking by Baseball America. His recruiting class was ranked third in the country. Last year marked ASU's return to postseason play as ASU went 3-2 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional, narrowly missing out on a trip to Omaha.

The Devils finished with a 39-22 record and a No. 11 ranking by Baseball America and No. 14 ranking by Collegiate Baseball. Murphy has also started the Pitch-by-Pitch Baseball Academy which holds baseball camps and clinics year round, not only in Phoenix, but around the country as well. His 464-202-1 Division I record gives him a winning percentage of .696, seventh-best among active NCAA coaches with a minimum of five years of Division I experience.

Murphy's Notre Dame teams recorded 45 or more wins in each of his last six seasons and advanced to the finals of an NCAA Regional each of the last three seasons.

The Syracuse, N.Y., native was hired August 17, 1994, and immediately set to work on building his program.

He also has international coaching experience, guiding the Dutch National Team to the European championship in the summer of 1987, and helping to develop baseball in Australia as a state manager in New South Wales in 1984.